Glow
by Minikimii
Summary: "You're... you're like a dream." Raxtus/Kendra, [Discontinued]
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: Fablehaven and its characters belong to Brandom Mull. Raxtus's avatar form idea originates from me. :)  
Note: Written post volume four and contains major spoilers.

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**Glow  
**Part 1

Blond hair tied back with an elastic hair tie, Kendra Sorenson tilted her head up toward the sky, appreciative yet vigilant as she regarded the bright blue vastness before her. Around her, the fairies flitted to and fro, gathering around the mirror she had brought for them in her pocket. Even though they paid her no heed at the moment, she found that studying them somehow put her in a trance-like state. When in this kind of mental limbo, memories of the boy who used to be Gavin Rose would leave her and if she was lucky, the dull ache in her chest would dissipate temporarily.

The happier memories of the Gavin were slowly slipping away from her one by one. In her mind, she had separated the concept Navarog from the stuttering dragon tamer she had once fallen for. With that being the first step, she had moved onto busying herself with other things. Her idea to begin reconstructing the Fairy Queen's Sanctuary was a welcome distraction. Kendra had petitioned Raxtus to go to the Queen's Shrine at Wyrmroost and ask for directions to create or find a magical item to help rebuild the Shrine at Fablehaven. That had been a week ago. Waiting for his return and conversing with some of the more willingly friendly fairies was all that kept her sane.

When she had become fairykind, the magical world had opened up to her, allowing her to gain access to a number of privileges that hadn't been granted to mortals in far too long. Although it had been a blessing at first, her abilities now felt like a curse. To be able to see magical creatures now without any aid from foods made her miss how the world used to look different – normal even – and more often than not safe. Fairykind status would last a lifetime. Part of her bringing a mirror into the garden was due to the fragment of a foolish wish that one day those fairies would be gone and the butterflies, dragonflies, and other beauteous insects would return her world. Maybe the other non-magical counterparts whose deceptive image had once kept her safe from harm would return as well.

Maybe life could be normal again.

With a heaving sigh, Kendra turned her attention toward the pool again. She stared for a few more moments before a shadow suddenly slid over the water. The shape had four distinct extensions: head, wings, tail.

The sixteen-year-old tilted her head upward to see the dark figure that obscured the sun swoop in from the sky and onto Fablehaven's grounds. As the figure neared her, its scales began to catch the sunlight at different angles, verifying without a doubt who the mystery visitor was. The prismatic, silvery dragon landed with an elegant sweep into the grass field, a pleasant breeze following his thudding landing.

"Raxtus," Kendra exclaimed, a bright smile illuminating her face, "you came back!"

The dragon laughed a tenorous laugh as the teenager jumped up to him and wrapped her arms around his graceful neck. **(1)**

"Hello, Kendra."

The blonde slid her arms away from around his neck and grinned, holding herself away from him at arms' length to inspect his figure with squinted eyes. Even after their brief embrace, the fairystruck dragon (for that was what she had dubbed him to be) glowed and pulsated light as if it were his living organismic right. An obvious smile played upon his features as a few of the fairies from the pool gathered around him and lightly touched his scales to absorb a bit of light he had obtained from his hug with Kendra.

"So did you ask the Queen?" she inquired.

"Yes," the dragon nodded. "She… she expressed quite clearly that rebuilding the shire while the Sphinx was still a threat would be a foolhardy thing to do."

Kendra nodded solemnly, turning to the silvery blue fairy that had raised Raxtus and quickly speaking in a fairytongue, instructing her to spread the news among the other fairies that the project would have to wait. A few of them shook angrily, sparks flying off some while the humidity in the air crystallized and froze around others. The few less melodramatic ones simply smiled understandingly and flew off.

Soon, the cluster of fairies that had gathered around them dissipated, leaving the pair alone to wander their thoughts. With a happy sigh, Kendra relaxed her involuntarily clenched muscles and settled into a happy stroll as they two of them neared the house. From inside, she could see Seth waving excitedly at the silvery dragon. Apparently, Raxtus had a strong affinity with Sorensons.

Suddenly, Seth's face was gone from the window and the sound of pounding footsteps could be heard faintly from the building. Soon after, the boy burst out from the front door and nearly flew right to where Raxtus was standing.

"I can't believe you're here! You should come in!"

"How will I do that?" Raxtus asked, his numerous ringing tenor voices holding the same multiple tinges of worry in their intonation.

Apparently, the shadow charmer had a plan for this little (or would it be considered big?) problem as well:

"Shrink down to your avatar size."

"Uhh… Seth, I don't think that's a good idea."

Kendra shot her younger brother a warning glare the moment those words left his lips. Although she hadn't disclosed the extent of Raxtus's abnormalities to Seth, she had already strictly forbade him from bringing up humanoid versions of dragons. Of course, this was _Seth_ she was thinking about and Seth listened to no one.

The only redeeming quality present at the moment was the fact that Seth had enough courtesy to turn the conversation away from the subject.

The dragon returned the sentiment with his own version of a chortle. Seth quickly bounded into the house, waving Raxtus closer as he tried. Without thinking, Kendra took Raxtus by the forearm and began to lead him to up to the mansion.

"Wait, Kendra!"

"What?"

She turned around to face him, laughing blindly when she realized that by grabbing his forearm she had inadvertently lit him up brighter than the most powerful light bulb she had ever seen in all of her existence.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Is there any way you can stop shining so brightly?" she asked, covering her eyes with both her hands as not to go blind.

Suddenly, Raxtus grew quiet and still. When she didn't receive an answer, she tried asking once more. The only words that met her ears were raveled within a hushed murmur of embarrassment.

"Yes, I can, but it will be extremely…"

He didn't bother finishing the sentence properly. And, before Kendra had time to contemplate what he had said, the light that shone from Raxtus began fading. It slowly dulled and condensed into a smaller concentration, lowering its intensity by half as the shape before her took form.

"It's really embarrassing."

When Kendra looked up, she had expected the fairy-like avatar with blue butterfly wings that the silvery dragon had once mentioned to be flitting around in the air before her. Somehow, that wasn't the case.

Raxtus was now just as big as Kendra (and rather pretty, if she were to say so herself).

She dared a second glance toward Raxtus's avatar form, admiring the way his long, silvery hair shone in the light. Without meaning to, she glanced toward his face and instantly felt an admiration for the dragon's fine features and bright eyes. As for his skin, even though it still had blue base, there was a metallic rainbow highlight that shone from the sun. Because of all the magical energy Raxtus was dispelling, the slight etches on his body that resembled dragon scales were clearly visible to Kendra's eyes.

"How?" she asked as she adverted her eyes to the ground. "How are you the same size as me? I thought you were as big as the other fairies…"

"I usually am. You charged me up too much, I guess. I mean, I've never been this size before…" When he didn't receive any sort of visible response, doubt began drenching his thoughts. "I look awful like this, don't I? I'm the only 'male fairy' there is on any reserve in the world and I'm not even really a fairy! Plus, now that I'm as big as you, you can see just how girly I am and I'm a disgusting shame to dragonkind and I–"

"Raxtus, stop it." The dragon-fairy shut up instantaneously. "You look wonderful. Like… like a dream."

At those words, he flushed slightly, his cheeks turning a slight purple shade under his watery blue skin. Tilting his head down in embarrassment, the dragon-fairy smiled and thanked Kendra for her compliment. Without intending to, Kendra caught sight of Raxtus's smiling face and blushed. To be honest, the male was quite… attractive. Appealing, even, to artistic aesthetics; he was her version of magical light personified.

Raxtus looked up from where he had turned his attention to only to see Kendra silently admiring his figure. The blond snapped out of her trance-like state and beckoned Raxtus to follow her. Soon after, he was invited to come inside the house and promptly introduced to the remaining residents of the Sorenson Mansion.

All the while, Kendra couldn't help but sneak glances to his beautiful form and wonder exactly what she had really done to alter the silveret's state.

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**(1)** Tenorous is a made up word, according to Microsoft Word. Think… Tenor voice. Tenor + (-ous) = Tenorous? Yeah. :D  
So yeah. This would be my first het fanfic ever. At best, this is going to be a threeshot piece, so wish me luck, alright? :)

_Bisous, Minikimii_


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: Fablehaven belongs to Brandom Mull. The concept of Raxtus's transformation is mine (as of this moment in time. Who knows, maybe Mr. Mull is thinking along the same lines?)  
Also, I'd like to thank everyone who left me reviews! I'm so glad I got feedback from readers in such a giant wave; those are the things that make me want to write more. It is to you, dear reader, that I say:  
Please enjoy.

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**Glow**  
Part 2

The stars outside shone dimly through the window. It was all Kendra could focus on as she drifted in and out of consciousness, her eyelashes flittering to and fro. Thank god it was past Midsummer's Eve. Two days ago, she probably would have cried from even looking anywhere beyond that glass. Two days ago, the dark creatures had decided to leave their part of the attic alone for the most part, as Seth was now a shadow charmer. She was grateful that he had an affinity to the darkness. After all, she had begun to feel a vibe of worry mixed with envy from her younger brother as time progressed. She was glad that she no longer held the status of the only one with magical gifts.

She sat up from her bed, looking over to Seth to make sure that he wasn't going to wake up. Instead, his eyes blinked up at her, a smile lighting his face as he saw that she was awake as well. She sat for a few minutes, sharing a silent moment with her sibling in his element before she got up and walked to the window. Seth didn't follow, but he sat up in the bed and watched her gather the painting materials that Lena had once showed her how to use.

"Want help?"

Kendra shook her head as she pulled out a few pencils and began her most recent attempt at her own paint by numbers piece. Seth simply laid back down in the bed and curled over onto his side, watching Kendra as she brought her pencil to the canvas page for another test of her nearly non-existent skill as an artist.

"What are you drawing?" Seth asked as he pulled up a chair beside her.

"Just watch."

The pencil guided itself along the page, forming the rough and easy shape of a human body mid-flight. Slowly, she stretched the line across the bumpy page, flicking her wrist experimentally as she began drawing the curve of a wing. She shaped it like a butterfly's, curling up at the ends gracefully into a thin sliver of a swirl at the end. As for clothing, she gave the figure a simple robe. The folds of the cloth were drawn too roughly the first few times, looking awkward and stiff and soon Kendra gave up and opted for staring absentmindedly out the window.

From the window, she didn't bother trying to focus on the image, but there was an soft glow from the field. She supposed it was simply a few of the creatures of light who had gathered in a cluster out on the field.

Just as Seth was told, shadow charmers developed skills individually and there was no specified set of abilities one could obtain. Much to his delight, Seth was now able to see a few degrees better in the darkness and seemed to have a sixth sense (or perhaps seventh, because of his other abilities as a charmer) about where items and creatures were located in the dark. Just like how distracter spells didn't affect Kendra, they seemed to have an opposite, pulling effect on Seth. He could pinpoint anything in the dark.

Which was why Kendra wasn't surprised when he was able to sense a presence in the field outside.

"Seth, what's wrong?"

Following her brother silent gaze out the window, she watched as something glowing emerged from the forest.

"What was Raxtus doing in there?" Seth narrowed his eyes, his facial expression filmed over with distrust, the silent 'he better not be talking to the evil creatures of the reserve' filling in the blank he'd left in his rhetorical question.

Without giving Seth an answer, she turned, opened the door to their attic bedroom, and stepped outside into the short hallway. She tiptoed down to the bottom of the stairs, smiling to herself while she made her way across the short distance from the bottom of the stairs to the front door. Maybe if she was quiet enough, the Brownies wouldn't hear her and would continue their working in the kitchen.

Pulling the doorknob open, she breathed thankfully that no one was alerted of the subtle sounds and movements. Outside, Hugo patrolled the grounds diligently. She followed his guard path until her eyes crossed over to where a humanoid figure stood, face upturned to the midnight sky. Not daring to make a sound, she stood and stared.

Ethereal glow about him, the figure fluttered his wings gently, turning his gaze from the moon to his hands as he flexed them experimentally. Kendra smiled when she him crouch down near the edge of the garden and pucker his lips. Then, her breath was stolen away as he exhaled a lovely, swirling stream of magic onto the plants. She gasped when suddenly seemed to shine a bit and started enlarging and extending their leaves. Inversely, the figure crouching by the flowers dimmed somewhat and the light diffused into a soft and pulsating glow.

"How long are you going to stand there?" the figure asked, still crouched and stroking the underpetal of a large red flower.

"Raxtus, I didn't realize it was you."

The dragonfairy only smiled. He stood up and walked over to face her.

"Would you liked to go for a walk?" he propositioned. She replied with a nod of her head.

Kendra was about to take his hand when suddenly Raxtus backed away from her with a laugh. "We're not doing that again!" he laughed. "I'm not about to go into the forest looking like a torch or some beacon of light for everyone there to stare at."

Kendra quickly rushed into the house and grabbed a pair of gloves from her bedroom. When Seth stopped her to ask her what she was doing, she simply told him the plain truth. With a mischievous smile on his face, he laughed a simple 'okay' and rolled around in the bed.

Once she had retrieved her gloves, Kendra made her way outside to see Raxtus waiting for her in front of the house. Without a word, she took his hand and the two of them made their way toward the forest, slipping past Hugo as he was on the other side of the field. They continued to walk until the pair reached the pool where Lena had once lived, the pool where the Fairy Queen's Shrine had once been.

Raxtus let go of Kendra's hand and wandered away so that he was under one of the gazebos five feet away from the edge of the pool. The water was unnaturally smooth like glass. The naiads must be waiting for him to approach the water so they could pull him under. Much to their displeasure, the silvery-blue simply stood, gazing out into the water.

From this angle, Kendra was able to admire Raxtus's avatar form without fear of being noticed. She loved how his skin glowed softly and the way the silvery-blue tint made her stomach twirl in small butterfly spins. He went around the preserve shirtless, wearing only a pair of jeans he had borrowed from Seth for his clothing. He had discarded white wrap around his waist that had stayed with him when he transformed in favor of something a little more modern.

Now that he was standing simply in front of her, watching the water and the moon reflected onto the mirror flat water, she could take all the time she wanted to continue watching him. The way the moonlight danced in a halo around his skin sent her chest into a hollow, quivering swirl. His wings, translucent silver and so thin they could pass for paper, had blue veins stemming from his back and through his wings like vines that clung to nothing as they climbed through the space between two glass windows. The edges of his wings were rimmed in blue a shade darker than the roadways that originated from his back. As her eyes followed the details on his body, she cam to admire how chiseled his back was and the way his arms easily looked lithe and powerful. Although he was a small dragon, he was speedy, and Kendra concluded that the speed he had in his normal physical form translated into his avatar form.

Kendra, so lost on studying Raxtus that she had even begun walking toward him as she was watching him, didn't have time to react when he turned around. Instead of adverting her gaze, the blonde found herself face to face with the older male.

And as easily as he had turned to face her, Raxtus smiled. Suddenly, the embarrassment from having being caught in such a position flooded to her cheeks. Kendra looked away, a silly smile gracing her face when she saw the dragonfairy's feet step toward hers. She squeezed her eyes shut as he began reaching for her face. His finger were warm to the touch – warmer than humans – and brushed across her cheeks just enough to leave her skin feeling cool at the loss of heat.

She felt his gentle hand guide her face skyward, but she kept her eyes closed. Then, with a touch as soft as a butterfly, Raxtus brushed his lips across her eyelids.

"R-Raxtus?" she breathed out shakily.

"Yes?"

On instinct, Kendra fluttered open her eyes and her vision was met with two uncertain yet elated gray eyes gazing back at her. Suddenly, she could feel how scared he was, how the fingers that brushed her face trembled with

"Y-you're… we're not compatible."

The dragonfairy's eyes lowered; Kendra could've sworn that his glow diminished.

"Don't you know?" Raxtus whispered, his voice so light she could barely hear the words. "You're no longer mortal."

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I originally planned for this to be a oneshot, but apparently I'm not letting that happen. -laughs- Oh well. Multi-chaptered story, here we come!

Thanks for reading. :3

_Bisous, Minikimii_


	3. Part 3

Disclaimer: Fablehaven belongs to the almighty Mull-ster. Raxtus's avatar form and the way he becomes human-sized, however, are my creation, unless Brandon Mull uses the same idea in book five; In that case, I'm just a miraculously great guesser. (05-31-09)

Now before we being, I have a few words I'd like to say:

First of all, I know my writing takes a much more serious tone than Brandom Mull's. He writes for children while I'm more accustomed to writing for an older audience. I am often mistaken for a college student both online and in real life, so I do not intend to change my writing style for the sake of it potentially becoming an easier read, and I would appreciate it if people would not point out that "it sounds too professional" and that "the real Fablehaven books are a bit more relaxed". I do not intend to emulate Mull's style, nor do I intend to do that with any other authors' styles in the near future. Fanfiction is intended for the readers to be able to borrow the characters created by the original authors so that they write as they see fit, choosing whether or not they would like to imitate the style of the original author. I choose to maintain my writing style; please repsect that.

Now, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me constructive criticism, especially those who commented on my weaker writing voice. I very much agree with those readers and am proud to say that I have been practicing developing my voice through first and second person narrative in my other main fandom, Kingdom Hearts. It's very inspiring to see that other people are evaluating my work with a critical eye, because suddenly, I want to write more!

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**Glow**  
Part Three

"I'm… I'm what?"

"Kendra, you're not human; you're fairykind – fairykind have extended life spans."

Her chest clenched and she fell to her knees on the marble-white ground. How could she not be human? She was aging just like any other human girl…

"Are y-you sure?"

Raxtus kneeled down beside her, his face covered in a film of worry. Kendra's eyes began to water and she reached a hand up to wipe her face, but stopped when Raxtus's fingers brushed away the moisture. From where he touched her face, a light slowly glowed through his skin, climbing up like liquid under the influence of capillary action. He was glowing far too bright to be hidden in the darkness now that he resembled a lighthouse beacon in the middle of a small sea.

"I'm sure, Kendra."

The moment the words left his lips, the first sob escaped from Kendra's lips. She cupped her mouth with both hands and fell forward against Raxtus, the top of her head resting on his bare chest. With uncertain arms, the dragonfairy wrapped his arms around her shaking form, careful not to touch her skin.

"I'm, sorry… Kendra, I'm so sorry…" he whispered.

"What about Seth?" she asked, her face still angled downward.

Raxtus gently lifted her face to meet his. "He's a shadow charmer, right?" Kendra nodded. "Then he's the same as you. The demons have blessed him."

Kendra chuckled humorlessly at the statement. "Demons" and "blessing" didn't often fall in the same context.

The pair lounged on the grass until Kendra fell asleep. With a sigh, Raxtus shifted into his dragon form, scooped her up, and flew her back to the Sorenson mansion where he was met by an angry and distraught Seth.

"Where were you two? I was worried sick! There's no way – _no way_ – I'm ever letting you take her out that long again!"

Raxtus landed and the wind blew Seth's hair back lightly, revealing the mortified expression on his face when he saw Kendra's tear-streaked cheeks and limp form.

"What did you _do_ to her?!"

The dragon was silent as he gently touched Kendra's arm until he had more magical energy than he could stand. With a quick will, the dragon morphed back into his avatar form. He felt his scales melt into his skin while his bones bended, elongated, and shrank to change himself back into something more humanoid. He was lucky the clothes seemed to have morphed along with him when logically, they should have torn and left him naked – even as a mythical creature, he had to admit that magic sure was an enigmatic force.

"Answer me, Raxtus!"

"I didn't do anything," he said, surprising himself when the voice that came out was filled with confidence he didn't have.

Seth glared at him, alternating between cradling his unconscious sister's head in his lap and pulling her body closer to hug.

"You're lying. What-did-you-do?!"

Raxtus hesitated. He didn't want to lie to Seth, but after he'd told Kendra about the truth, he doubted the teen would understand. After all, Seth was too impulsive, too _impatient_, to wait long enough to listen for an explanation. Instead, Raxtus changed the subject.

"Seth, you aren't human either."

There was a slight moment of silence that followed, a sweep of something akin to incredulous acceptance.

"I'm not human," he stated. "Is it because…?"

"Yes, it's because you're a shadow charmer. The power of darkness extended your lifespan."

"I… see."

Raxtus crouched down beside the Sorenson siblings, offering his arms to carry Kendra back into the house. Seth acquiesced and let the dragon take her back to the house. A few minutes later, he exited the house and joined the unusually silent Seth outside on the grass field.

"Are you coming in?" he murmured, meek once more.

The brunet sighed and lay down on the grass floor. "No, not yet."

"Alright. Do you want me to leave then?"

"No. You can stay."

He took a sitting position beside the teen. Hugo was off in the distance, still patrolling the yard, and Raxtus watched the golem out of the corner of his eyes. After a few moments, he looked back down at Seth, only to find that he invoked his shadow walking abilities.

It was sunrise when Raxtus finally saw his face again. Seth had fallen asleep in the grass, the light revealing his lax face and softly rising chest. He smiled to himself as he wiped away a small bit of drool sliding out the corner of the boy's mouth, careful not to wake him as he transported Seth back into the house so he could wake in his own bed.

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This was originally going to be a cute, short little story about Kendra and Raxtus admitting their feelings for each other, but now I've actually come up with what I consider to be an amusing plotline, so I intend to continue writing this as a multi-chaptered series.

Sorry the chapter is so short as well. There was no way to transition to the next part smoothly without a chapter break. (I promise the next chapter shall be longer!)

_Bisous, Minikimii_


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